Sébastien Bassong and Steven Pienaar are desperate to leave Tottenham Hotspur for Queens Park Rangers before the winter transfer window closes but they face a nervous wait to see whether Spurs' chairman, Daniel Levy, finds the sums on offer acceptable. Bassong has made no secret of his frustrations at White Hart Lane, saying at the end of last season that his fall from favour was akin to a journey from "heaven to hell", and he thought that he had completed a move to Rangers on the final day of the summer window. The centre-half had signed the contract at Loftus Road but, agonisingly for him, Tottenham's counter-signature did not follow, after they missed out on Gary Cahill, who was then at Bolton Wanderers. The Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, said he felt sorry for Bassong. Rangers changed their manager earlier this month, Mark Hughes replacing Neil Warnock, but their desire to take Bassong has endured. The biggest obstacle has been agreeing the fee as Levy, who is synonymous with notoriously hard bargains, is eager to recoup, at least, the £8m he paid Newcastle United for Bassong in the summer of 2009.

Bassong felt his latest kick in the teeth on Friday night, when he was an unused substitute at Watford in the 1-0 FA Cup win while Pienaar, who came on in the 80th minute, was also disappointed, having hoped to start.

The South Africa midfielder's transfer to Tottenham from Everton last January for £3m has turned into a disaster; he has tasted only 14 minutes of Premier League action this season and, having faded from view, he has also begun to fear for his international place.

Rangers have made their interest in him known anda joint deal for him and Bassong has been proposed. Levy signed Pienaar for a cut-price £3m, because he only had six months to run on his Everton contract but the player was able to secure a £70,000-a-week deal at White Hart Lane, making him one of the club's top earners. Levy is keen to reduce his wage bill.

Rangers have the scope to offer big salaries and they are expected to be one of the major players on deadline day, as Hughes seeks the injection of quality that he hopes will see the club stave off relegation. The Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, whom he managed at Craven Cottage, is among his targets.

Tottenham have a clutch of unhappy players, with Heurelho Gomes, Vedran Corluka, Danny Rose, Niko Kranjcar, Giovani dos Santos and Roman Pavlyuchenko also determined to play more football, whether on loan or on a permanent basis at another club.

Levy has plenty of saleable assets and he could raise a sizeable kitty for Redknapp, who would love to spend it on a marque signing. The Liverpool striker Andy Carroll remains prominent on his wish-list; Redknapp moved for him last January, only for him to swap Newcastle United for Anfield.

Carroll has struggled at Liverpool and Redknapp would relish the opportunity to work with him. His current centre-forward, Emmanuel Adebayor, is on a season's loan from Manchester City and the deal is not expected to be made permanent due to the Togolese's £170,000-a-week wage, to which City contribute heavily. Tottenham might try on deadline day but they are more likely to make eye-catching signings in the summer.